William e



(No Model.)

I W. E. LEE.

SAFE LOOK. No. 391,056. Patented Oct. 16, 1888.

UNITED STATES ATENT Erica.

XVILLIAM E. LEE, OF LONG PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA,

SAFE-LOCK.-

SPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,056, dated October 16, 1888.

Application filed April 3, 1888. Serial No. 269,448. (No model.)

To all whom L's may concern.

Be it known that LWILLIAM E. LEE, :1 citizen of the United States, residing at Long Prairie, in the county of Todd and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safe-Locks, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improvement in safe locks; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts more fully hereinafter described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby a safe-door may be locked and unlocked from the inside of the safe without the aid of exterior force, and thereby avoid the necessity ofperforating the outer plates of the door. I attain this object by the mech anism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the rear of a safe-door, showing my improved locking and unlocking device in a position to immediately lock the door when it is closed and to with draw the bolts at the required moment. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the inner end of thelocking-lever in position to immediately force the bolts out when the door is closed. Fig. 3is a similar view of the unlocking-leverin position to withdraw the bolts. Fig. 4is a detail view of the spindle and cam-plate. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the spring-actuated catch on which the weighted end of the locking-lever rests.

In the drawings, A represents the inner plate of the door of the safe or vault, and B aspin dlejournaled in said inner plate, its inner end being rigidly secured to a lever (not shown) by which the bolts are operated.

The bolt mechanism employed is of the usual or any desired form, which can be operated by the turning of a single spindle situated near the center of the door. The spindle B has inclined notches b b cut in its sides.

0 is a lever having a circular opening in its end, through which the protruding outer end of the spindle B passes, the opening being of sufficient size to permit an easy movement of the lever on said spindle.

The inner end of lever G is somewhat reduced, and has a recess, 0, formed in its outer face, directly opposite the notch 12 in the spindle, in which is mounted a spring-actuated pawl, 0, having an outwardly-extending lug, c", on its upper end, the lower or pivoted end being secured to the lever.

The lever C is provided with a weighted end, 0, which has a projection, O, on its outer edge. This projection is formed with an inclined or beveled upper side and a horizontal lower edge, as shown.

D is a lever, similar in construction to that of lever 0, its inner end being reduced on its under side and recessed, as at d, in which is mounted aspring-actuated pawl,d,directly opposite to the notch b in the spindle. The lever is provided with a weighted end, D. having a projection, D on its outer edge. The projection D is formed somewhat similar to the projection 0 its lower edge being inclined obliquely instead of horizontally, as in the case of said other projection.

Situated between the pivoted ends of the levers O and D and surrounding the spindle B is a cam-plate, E, which is rigidly secured to the door-plate and bent up at an angle past the lever O, and inserted between the same and the lever D, as stated. The cam edge e of this plate is arranged adjacent to the pawl on the lever 0, against which the lug 0 impinges when the lever 0 moves down, for purposes hereinafter stated.

The levers O and D are secured to and held in place on the spindle B by a washer and nut fitted on the end of the spindle.

To retain the lever O in its horizontal position and to assure of its immediate release when the door is closed, a catch, F, is employed, which has an inclined outer face. It is seated in a recess formed in the inner doorplate, A, its outer inclined face protruding beyond the edge of the plate, and its end beyond the side thereof, the latter forming arest for the lever when the projection O is above it. This catch has a spring behind it, which retains it in its normal position protruding from the recess, and admits of its being forced back into the recess when the door is closed.

To retain the lever D in its horizontal position, a lever, H, is employed,which is riveted to the door-plate A, its short arm being extended arm i is beveled on its under side, as shown,

and is adapted to come in contact with an angle-arm, p, of the lever H, the end of which is inclined in an opposite direction to the end of the arm 3, and is prevented from any vertical or lateral play by the strips on, secured to the plate A.

To force the lever H out from the projection D when the arm 11 of the time mechanism is lowered, a spring, K, is secured on the plate A, having its free end placed against the side of its long arm of said lever. To increase the pressure of said spring, a cam, k, is arranged at the side thereof, which is adapted to be turned and held in place by a suitable set screw.

To accelerate the downward movement of the levers O and D and assure a perfect working of the lock, springs S andT are placed on the plate A, adjacent to the weighted ends of said arms, their free ends being placed against laterally-projecting lugs on the weights. The spring T is preferably double to insure of the working of the lock should one break while the door is locked.

The operation of the above-described lock is as follows: When the door is open and about to be closed, the weighted levers O and D are placed in the horizontal position, as shown, the lever 0 being retained in position by the catch F, and the lever B by the endof lever H, the clock mechanism having previously been adjusted to hold the arm 2' in its horizontal position with the end of the arm 1) of the lever H impinging against its beveled end. As the door is closed, the spring-catch F comes in contact with the side of the safe, and as the door reaches its ultimate inward movement and the bolts are opposite the sockets in the walls of the safe, it is completely forced into the recess in the door, thereby releasing the weighted end of the lever, whichimmediately swings down, and owing to the engagement of the pawl c with the notch 12 in the spindle, the movement of the lever also turns the spindle, which in turn operates the levers of the bolt mechanism and forces the bolts into their sockets, thus locking the door. As the lever descends, the lug on the pawl comes in contact with the cam-plate, and forces the pawl out from the notch in the spindle to admit of its being turned back to its original position. As the time for opening the safe approaches, the time mechanism lowers the arm t, and the lever H is forced by spring K from off the projection D releasing the lever D,which immediately swings down. The pawl d, engaging with the notch b in the spindle, turns the same, thereby forcing the bolts back and unlocking the door. The construction of the projections G and D with beveled upper edges permits of an easy replacement of the levers in their horizontal position,the inclined edges forcing the catchf and leverH in,which immediately resume their position after the projections have passed, and thus retain the levers in place.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. A. safe-lock consisting of bolt-work, a spindle rigidly secured thereto, weighted levers loosely mounted on said spindle and adapted to move independent of each other, and catches for retaining and releasing said levers at required periods to lock and unlock the safe, substantially as described.

2. A safe-lock consisting of levers having weighted ends and pawls pivoted thereto, a spindle having notches therein with which said pawls engage, and catches for holding the levers in a horizontal position, substantially as described.

3. Asafe-lock consisting of a pair of weighted levers, a notched spindle to which said levers are loosely secured, and a spring-actuated catch arranged to retain one of said levers in horizontal position and to release it when the door is closed, substantially as described.

4. A safe-lock consisting ofa pair of weighted levers, a notched spindle on which said levers are loosely secured, a lever governed by time mechanism to release one of said weigh ted levers, and a catch for retaining and releasing the other lever, substantially as described.

5. A safe lock consisting of a notched spindle rigidly secured to the bolt-work of the safe, weighted levers for manipulating the bolts secured on said spindle, a cam-plate interposed between said levers, pawls on the levers adapted to engage with the notches in said spindle, and catches for retaining said weighted levers in horizontal position, sub-j stantially as described.

6. Asafe-lock consisting of a notched spindle rigidly secured to the bolt-work,weighted levers having inclined projections on their outer edges and pawls secured to their inner ends, said levers being loosely mounted on said spindle, a cam-plate interposed between the ends of the said levers,wl1ereby one of said pawls is forced from engagement with one of the notches in said spindle,and catches for retaining said levers in horizontal position, substantially as described.

7. The safe-lock herein described, consisting of the notched spindle B,the leversOand D,the catch F, the lever H, the springs S and T, and time mechanism I, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM E. LEE.

\Vitnesses:

JoHN lVIAN'IE, SILAS O. WARNER.

ICO 

